First month rent / deposit

[nonamemummy]

I went to view a property to rent on Friday. Later in the day I paid the holding fee and am going in Monday to sort the paperwork. Will they want me to pay the deposit and first months rent on Monday ??

I didn't need to pay my deposit and rent until the day before I moved in.

@SuperficialSuzie okay thankyou

Generally its the day before or the day you move in. So when your contract starts :)

Perfect, Thankyou for replying are you both in private rented property?

I am :)

I moved into my private rental last October. I paid the deposit and first months rent on the day I moved in. Future rent is then due the same date you move in.

Thanks for all your replies. I’m in social housing and moving into private rented soon. EVERYONE is telling me how it’s such a bad idea. Is private renting really as bad as everyone is making out?

I really would think very carefully about giving up a social housing tenancy for private rent. It's so much less secure. Yes, sometimes you strike lucky and can rent the same place for years, but I've had friends who've been moved on by landlords selling etc after 6 or 12 months, several times in a row - it's stressful moving that often.

It really does depend on the landlord to be honest. I've got fantastic landlords who let us do what we want to the house and sort repairs quickly. We pay slightly below market rent for the area and they haven't increased it in 5 years as they want long term good tenants. I am however slightly anxious incase they need to sell due to covid as I know that their business has been dramatically effected. My previous house was a nightmare and was managed by an agency. They were actually taking money and not passing it onto the landlord. Didnt communicate, were horrific.

It really depends if financially it is beneficial etc too. Our rent is a huge chunk of our income and so no real ability to save for a mortgage. Social housing generally is cheaper so if we had that option so we could save we would probably seriously consider it and generally the tenancy is secure. I feel nervous being in private rental right now.

Oh wow, I agree with others. Really make sure as being in social housing would be a much safer long term option. I've moved 3 times in 5 years. It's heartbreaking and expensive. We pay about £650 more than others in similar size social housing.

Each time we move it costs £1000's and you don't get your deposit back until you move out so you need to find that next deposit and months rent without it. Then get it back. It's always a worry trying to find another private rental near my children's school too.

I'd bite someone's hand off if I was offered social housing.

I'm sure their are lovely landlords that have houses they want to rent out for years and years. I'm just gutted I haven't found one yet. It's always on my mind and I'm definitely more of an anxious person now. I never feel settled unfortunately.

*there

Private renting you have no idea how long you can actually stay there, any time the landlord wants the property back (to move back into, sell etc) you can be turfed out, with some notice obviously, but it’s not great. I never stayed in any private rented place more than 18 months because of this. You can never really settle anywhere.

Why are you moving op?

I would definitely think very hard about giving up a social tenancy, nonamemummy. It will be secure and probably a lot cheaper than private rentals. When I was renting I often had to move every year, with all of the associates stress and expense, and some agencies are awful when it comes to withholding deposits for what most people would consider normal ‘wear and tear’. You usually can’t make any changes, and private landlords can be terrible with sorting repairs. There is also no minimum legal housing standard they have to maintain in the way that social landlords do. Social landlords will also have a sinking fund and a rolling programme of works such as relaxing kitchens and bathrooms to ensure that they stay up to scratch, which private landlords won’t. Having said that, if you can afford to go privately and want to leave the social housing for someone who can’t, well that’s a very decent and honourable thing to do.

I decided to move because there’s 4 of us in a small 2 bed top floor flat. We wouldn’t be able to move for years with social housing and no one wants to swap to a top floor flat. We’re desperate for more space and a garden

@nonamemummy

I decided to move because there’s 4 of us in a small 2 bed top floor flat. We wouldn’t be able to move for years with social housing and no one wants to swap to a top floor flat. We’re desperate for more space and a garden

Good for you on working to improve the lot of your family. In your circumstance I would absolutely go for the private rental. It really isn’t the doom and gloom as has been made out. Congratulations and good luck

I understand your decision too in this context. Yes there’s less security and I hated that, BUT if your current living environment isn’t working for you then it could well be a fair payoff.

As others have said it is less secure, but if you can try and ask about the landlord's circumstances.

My boss has lots of rental properties and they are just there to provide a decent pension income, they have no intention of selling up, whereas if it is someone who is temporarily relocating they may want the house back at some point.

I rent from someone who has a lot of properties, this is not their home (they live in a big mansion at the other end of the village!), I have been here for over two years and they are good with repairs etc and just leave me alone.

actually there are minimum standards for all English landlords, and housing associations can also be quite shit on what repairs they do.

as on the other thread; councils/HAs don't die/divorce/go bankrupt/get driven out of the business. Evictions from council properties are just as high but not for these reasons. Many private landlord 'no fault' proceedings are in fact for arrears/wreckers/dealers, they use sec 21 rather than sec8 because the latter is so easily circumvented by player tenants, often helped by the tenant organisations.

yes, make sure it is a BTL not the landlord's home that they may want to return to. No sane landlord will give a first tenancy longer than a year, but after that you can have a lot longer. And tenants no longer pay fees for tenancies.

Is the flat costing much less than renting a home with a garden? If so, could you stay put for a couple of years and save for a deposit to buy somewhere?